(love that frackin' show)

relevant to this and my view of the fourth amendment protecting us from the intrusion of an egregious government.

find it here: http://aeoliandissonance.com/bbdblog/2006/02/12/black-and-white/

apologies if pimping is frowned upon...it's hard out here...

barry

i copyrighted a phrase, though i still don't know if someone used it before me. simply this:

it takes a village of idiots to elect the village idiot.

sadly, tragically, it will take generations to recover from this presidency. i get borborygmus in the brain just thinking about it.

bbd

and not just the voice i hear on american public radio...garrison's voice in his writings here are my zen garden. a partner in watching and ruing this country's course, this patient etherized. and then trying to find some small thing to focus on, some kindness somewhere to enjoy.

i blogged about another of my favorite literary heroes in this same vein...sorry for the pimp...

http://aeoliandissonance.com/bbdblog/2006/02/28/yes-and-if-this-isn’t-nice…/

thanks mr. keillor, for the heart and life you impart

the greatest thing my mom taught me was empathy...it is something that children have a capacity for, but i think that empathy vessel is never filled without being modeled, without the example of seeing it in the family. and even one as atypical and disfunctional as ours was in so many ways.

she had a naïve ability to only see the good in people till they proved otherwise, not polyannish, but a choice.

so the ability to place yourself in someone else's shoes, and transubstantiate their pain and discomfort, is a gift. and though i'll never be as good at it as she was, it has, to my ontological relief, provided a basis for my lifelong progressive and democratic pursuits.

my mom was not brilliant in intellect, she was a bestower of gifts, though, to the five children plus one lost that she raised alone, all alone, as an immigrant and compoundingly alone.

may she rest in peace. i love you mom.

yes, i agree with pollyQ...i couldn't help but think about when the tape is removed...would that be funny too?

may the staff be waxed brazillian without permission

...and growing debt to you for what you mean for my life and how you help me see the world, i humbly disagree.

A non book monument can be a thing of beauty for our eyes and sustenance for our souls.

Let me give you an example.

When our oldest son was in fifth grade, my wife and I took him to Washington DC. She was on a business trip and we tagged along. He was going to miss some class time. I arranged with his teacher for him to keep a journal of what he saw and experienced.

One of the most profound moments for us both came when we visited the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial, there on the Mall between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. We went very early in the morning, when few people were about.

We stood at the end of the memorial, the polished black granite growing in size toward the center, before it turned and diminished in the distance.

There was a man not far from us—the only one there as we came up—leaning into the wall, both palms touching, and his head bowed in private, perhaps anguished, contemplation.

My son observed that from our angle the black granite reflected the man’s image perfectly—and that it was almost as if the dead on one side were touching the living.

Well, what an epiphany that was for me—the living among the dead—a revelation of truth and an example of empathy.

I was, and remain, so proud of my son, and humbled that he could teach me. He's grown into a fine young man, with talent and grace and empathy on the verge of begining his life in college. What a journey we've had together. I wouldn't change anything about him, though I could have been better in many ways.

Permit another proud papa moment...he's just had his first one man show: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbd/sets/72057594137982441/

so...that time at the Vietnam Memorial with my son, will always be with me...with all the passion and emotion distilled into a few moments like a haiku that makes you cry.

...that the republicans and their smarmy operatives will be hoist by their own petards come November and in 2008.

My guess is that there are still plenty of folk in this country that simply don't realize it will take generations to recover from this presidency. I just cannot fathom why people don't see the triumverate hands of Cheney, Rove and Rumsfeld up Bush's puppet butt and realize that they are blinded by their own paradigms.

In the global disappointment of Bush's re-election in 2004, I wrote in my blog: "It takes a village of idiots to elect the village idiot."

It's my fervant hope that the machiavellian machinations of rove and his minions blows up in their faces.

b

it is you who does not understand what "no problem" conveys.

it is the essence of narcissism, a devolving of whatever social contract preceded it into something "all about me." it is not, actually, the same or similar to "de nada," which is quintessentially subjunctive. "no problem" as it's used as a response to "thank you" means "this is not a problem for ME, and since i'm the all important one here, my gift to you is my condescension."

"you're welcome" is the graceful act, a bowing if you will in the acknowledgment of the worth of the other or of the exchange just taken place. it is the epitome of polite intercourse, and has never been rude, unless not offered as the words intend.

maybe...

a quick google image search brought up the image of wendy paris

http://www.harpercollins.com/harperimages/author/20737.jpg

cute but not D

b